In an interview with the Sunday newspaper "Apogevmatini tis Kyriakis",
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis again accused main opposition PASOK of
sending "conflicting" messages concerning its plans on major issues,
particularly important matters of foreign policy.

The premier noted Greece's stance at the NATO Summit in Bucharest
concerning the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), pointing
out that Greece's NATO allies had adopted Athens' position that the
dispute with FYROM over the name issue must be resolved before that
country could join the Alliance.

"That was a very major achievement of our foreign policy and that is
our final position," he stressed.

Karamanlis also emphasised the major international energy agreements
made by ND governments, saying that he counted these among its "great
successes".

On economic issues, the premier said that the 500 euros given by the
government to lower incomes in 2009, in spite of a general freeze on
wage increases, was much more than that promised by PASOK and that the
government intended to continue the same policy next year.

He stressed that the key for ND's victory in the upcoming elections was
for the party's supporters to stand by its side and for "no vote to be
lost".

Addressing a pre-election rally in the northwestern Greek city of
Ioannina on Saturday night, Karamanlis said that Greece was at the most
crucial turning point since the democracy was restored after the fall
of the junta in 1974. The New Democracy government had chosen the path
of responsibility and had clearly informed the Greek people about the
difficult decisions that must be taken, he added.

"The citizens must know the truth, they must know everything. There is
no room for evasiveness or for "rounding" things up. There are no
pleasant recipes. There are no easy solutions available," Karamanlis
noted, to add that the promises being made by main opposition PASOK
were "fake".

According to the premier, the programme outlined by PASOK would cost
some 20 billion euros and involve massing borrowing at huge cost, which
would have to be paid by future generations.

Karamanlis accused Papandreou of failing to address the real dilemmas
of the economic crisis and the measures that needed to be taken,
cloaking his intentions with pleasant-sounding phrases and "sacrificing
everything on the altar of the party".

Underlining that victory lay in the hands of ND's supporters, he urged
voters not to "give away their votes," and for everyone to be present
at the October 4 elections in order to ensure that ND emerged
victorious.

The final and 'honorary' position on the list is occupied by the
Eco-Greens MEP Michalis Tremopoulos.

In a statement after the presentation of the list, Piniou-Kalli noted
that "the presence of the Ecologists-Greens in Parliament is absolutely
essential for democracy, the protection of human rights and the
environment".

Ancient Greeks may have had considerable knowledge about how to care
for premature babies, according to an analysis presented on Sunday
during the 15th Hellenic Conference on Perinatal Medicine taking place
in Thessaloniki. This was posted by doctors from Agios Savvas
oncological hospital in Athens, working in collaboration with private
colleagues in Hania.

In an essay entitled "Mythological description of an incubator", the
doctors say that the description given in ancient myths of the birth of
the god Dionysus and how he was cared for very closely approximates the
requirements for an incubator used in modern hospitals.

According to some versions of the myth, Dionysus was born prematurely
in the eighth month of pregnancy and had a low birth weight. He was
carried by the god Hermes to Mount Nysa and delivered into the care of
the Hyades, the nymphs of warm rain, that placed him in a cave having
all the requirements of an incubator - an air filter, double lining and
protection from draughts.

The ancient myth-makers did not, of course, describe technological
appliances or fixtures but rather natural items that appear to serve an
equivalent purpose. The 'air filter' is a stand of pines planted by the
Hyades at the entrance of the cave, the 'double lining' is formed by
the branches of a virgin vine and the small god is protected from
draughts by a covering of thick-leaved ivy. Combined, these served to
maintain a warm and slightly moist - in other words thermically neutral
- environment for the newborn.

The above is all in the realm of myth and may only indicate a flight of
the imagination by some bolder story-teller of antiquity, rather than
evidence that the ancients knew how to care for premature babies.
According to the doctors, however, it would be a strange coincidence if
the makers of the myth had hit upon the requirements needed without
this knowledge having arisen from some specific experience or practice
of the time.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Aleka Papariga on
Sunday renewed her appeal to voters to strengthen the "popular
movement" by casting their vote for KKE during the October 4 general
elections.

"KKE is not the unknown 'X' factor, nor an unpredictable factor in
developments and support for its election ticket will on the day after
the elections be converted to a strengthening of the popular struggle,
a unifying, radical and popular trend of struggle and political
opposition," she said in statements to the press from KKE's
headquarters in Perissos.

Papariga said that a vote for KKE would ensure that October 4 brought
the emergence of a "trend that does not submit to extortionist
dilemmas, that has steadfast positions on issues of post-electoral
cooperation, that has a clear and specific policy and adapts to the new
without changing course."

She addressed her message to labouring classes that had voted for New
Democracy in the previous elections and PASOK voters, especially
"left-wing, progressive and radical voters that had found themselves
fighting alongside KKE in the 70s and 80s but later parted ways".

KKE's leader also warned against the 'trap' of absention, saying that
this essentiall supported conservative policies.

"Though the opening of the ballot box lasts only a minute, its
consequences last several years, since the goal of plutocracy and the
parties that serve it (ND and PASOK) is a recovery from the crisis by
intensifying the degree of exploitation of the workers," she stressed.

Caption: Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Aleka
Papariga speaking during a press conference held at KKE headquarters in
Perissos on Saturday. ANA-MPA - Manolis Pakias.

Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) party leader Alexis
Tsipras on Sunday paid a visit to the Drakopoulos Villa in the inner
Athens district of Patissia, which local residents are campaigning to
have converted to a public recreational area. During the visit, Tsipras
stressed the importance of local movements by active citizens in
efforts to protect the environment.

Accompanied by a group of candidates running on the ticket of the
Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) alliance, Tsipras said the Greek
capital had dozens of "environmental wounds" but also dozens of local
movements actively campaigning for a better quality of life and
fighting to save remaining green spaces from the diggers and
bulldozers.

SYN's leader accused the main parties of overlooking the struggles of
ordinary people as they fought over power.

"In PASOK they are busy cutting out ministerial suits for the day after
and at ND they are jostling for the best position on the day after. No
one is thinking about the day after for a society that is forgotten,
that is suffocating, a society that demands and will demand," he said.

Caption: Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) party
leader Alexis Tsipras during a visit to the Villa Drakopoulos in the
Athens inner city district of Patissia on Sunday, to support local
groups campaigning for its conversion into a recreational grounds.
ANA-MPA - Evi Fylaktou.